Memories Returning to Reality
by E.S. Simeon
Summary: In the aftermath of Shaggai dragging all Digital life forms back to the Digital World, the Tamers face difficulties adapting back to the normal life without Digimon. Two of the Tamers, troubled by family issues, decide they need the Digimon back.


**Disclaimer:** Digimon does not belong to me, it belongs to whoever rightfully owns it and this is a mere work of fiction based on the Tamer series.

**A/N:** Normal Texts are descriptions and actions, Italics are thoughts, while bolded texts are messages.

**Spoilers:** Plot takes place post-series one month after, expect spoilers from all of Tamers. The CD-Drama and the movie that comes post-series are not relevant.

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**Memories Returning to Reality**

Two months have passed by since the Tamers in Shinjuku last saw their Digimon. Everything may be relatively normal for now, but perhaps peace just did not suit the Tamers. While the Tamers did prevent the complete destruction of the world, some of them face personal problems at home.

Takato, Juri, Hirokazu, Kenta, Ryo, Ai, and Makoto all face minor problems, mainly trying to move on without their Digimon partners. They know that one day they would see their Digimon partners again, but even so, the pain of losing a friend is unpleasant for the most part. Another part of their problems include family and school issues, where relationships are beginning to reform and build up again; however, Jenrya, Shuichon, and Ruki face the toughest situations of all the Tamers.

The Lee family seems to have tension haunting them day and night. Shuichon still cries over the devastating loss of Lopmon, and for that reason alone, Jenrya has found that he is unable to forgive their father for unleashing the Shaggai inside the D-Reaper knowing there will be side effects. Even though Jenrya wants to forgive his father, the incessant episodes of crying from Shuichon prevents him from forgiving.

Meanwhile, over in the Makino household, Ruki continues with life; however, things are not as easy as before. By the end of the 'adventure' with the Digimon, Ruki did come to understand her mother a little bit more, but nonetheless did not prevent problems rising up currently. Rumiko tries to achieve a stronger relationship with her daughter by force, and the erroneous way of thinking produces a negative effect.

In the middle of the day, Jenrya temporarily closes down his computer, taking a respite from trying to access the Digital World. The search over the two months did not produce any success, as even high-tech computers from Hypnos would have little chance of connecting to the Digital World.

As Jenrya leaves his room into the hallway, he slowly opens the door to Shuichon's room. Inside the youngest of the Lee family is still playing with her dolls. Looking to Shuichon, who seems to only barely happy, Jenrya could smile a little. Still, with Shuichon in despair as much as he is, there is also unrest. Again, feelings of resentment builds up inside Jenrya, feelings that even he wish he did not have. The case is difficult, part of him really wants to just forgive his father and move on, but even the simple thought of Shuichon in emotional pain stirs up anger.

_I wish it did not have to be like this..._ Jenrya thought as he closed the door and his thoughts continue to trail off into the vicious cycle of resentment again. Afterwards, Jenrya began to think about if there is a solution to his family's problem. Many times, he would try to locate some sort of connexion to the Digital World, in hopes to fix the situation himself. Not long after he return to work on the computer did a knocking sound pierce into from the door, and shortly after the door opening. Shuichon enters the room, having realised that Lopmon is not returning. Knowing that this would not be one of the easier days, Jenrya walks over to his sister and put his arms around her.

"Jen..." Shuichon whispered.

"What is it?" Jenrya replied, even though he already knew what his sister would ask.

"Where is... Where..."Shuichon continued.

Pulling Shuichon closer, Jenrya close his eyes in pain, the hardest questions to answer is always the same, always of where Lopmon and Terriermon might be, and every time he could not answer the question without causing an emotional surge for Shuichon.

"I'm sorry, but... they are not here right now..." Jenrya finally said, letting out a long sigh.

"But why?" Shuichon pressed on, gripping her brother tighter, tears welling up in her eyes, knowing the painful truth but denying it at the same time.

"Just a little bit more... give me a bit more time Ok? I promise I will somehow get them back..." Jenrya slowly said again, knowing that he may be committing a promise that is impossible to keep. Releasing his sister, Jenrya could see the painful expression on Shuichon's face. The whole struggle seems to be ridiculous, as in the time of two months, anyone would be able to adapt without his or her Digimon partner by now. The case in this household is different though, as Terriermon and Lopmon are beyond just good friends and partners, they were part of the family as well.

After a period of calming down, Shuichon stops crying, going back to playing with her dolls as distraction from the main problem. Meanwhile, Jenrya goes back into his room again, working at his computer for a lost cause. Even though the possibility of actually finding something is impossible, the young boy persists. A few minutes of "work" passes by, and some tiredness seem to creep upon the boy, having spend much time and made no progress at all.

_I should just quit for today... maybe I will phone up Takato later and see how everything is..._ Jenrya thought as he hears another knocking sound into the room.

"Come in..." Jenrya processed in his tired state.

The door opens and Janyuu steps in, hoping not to cause a huge fuss, keeping in mind the current issues the family faces.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Janyuu asked, unsure of to start this conversation.

A brief moment of silence follow the last statement, as the tension seem to rise inside the room while Janyuu slowly sat down at the side of the bed and looking at his son's computer screen before breaking the silence.

"Son, are you really trying to connect to..." The father asked, and trailed off as his son avoided eye contact.

"I promised Shuichon... that I would find some way... I can't just give up..." Jenrya explained, feeling the burden.

"I'm sorry... I never did expect that she would react like this... I just..." Janyuu trailed off again, loss of words at the tough situation.

"I know, you just did what you have to... but, they... they were our family as well! We couldn't understand why we had to throw them out like trash," Jenrya protested, knowing that it is futile to deny what has been done.

"I know it must be painful for you right now, but please..." Janyuu pleaded, wanting to come to an understanding with his son. Only a painful expression appeared on Jenrya as he looked away from his father.

"You don't understand... Just... don't feel sorry..." Jenrya whispered, unable to contain himself.

"I just don't want this to continue, can we just..." Janyuu began again, only this time Jenrya reacted negatively, standing up quickly and dashing towards the door.

"Enough! I don't want to hear it... Give me some time to think about all this..." Jenrya responded.

"Jen, wait!" His father called after him again, but Jenrya had already run out of the house.

Meanwhile, the same situation seems to be unfolding at the other side of town at the Makino household. With Rumiko persisting to pressure Ruki with discussion about what kind of character to develop.

"Are you listening, Ruki?" Rumiko asked, seeing her daughter's disinterested look.

"Yes, mother..." Ruki replied with a disinterested tone of voice.

"Anyway, as I was saying..." Rumiko continued in her constant rambling while Ruki tried to keep an interested look while ignoring her mother.

_How is this any different from before? She is still annoying..._ Ruki thought, bored of the occasional lecture from her mother.

The calm weather did not make anything better either, as the dull light of the early sunset could easily put anybody to sleep. Getting tiring from the lecture, Ruki gets up and begins to leave the room.

"Ruki! Where are you going?" Rumiko questioned.

"Out of here for now, I'm bored..." Ruki responded, and left the room despite her mother's protest.

For the most part, everything seems to be manageable even without Renamon; however, sometimes when both Rumiko and Seiko are out. Still, at least throughout events of being a Tamer did open up some connexions for Ruki to other people rather than just her household relationships.

"I don't understand this is all good for her to know..." Rumiko said, not understanding why Ruki shows no interest in her topic.

"Perhaps she is just a little troubled after what happened two months ago. Don't worry about it too much..." Seiko assured, knowing that personal development cannot be rushed.

Sometimes Ruki would wonder if any of her friends also faces difficulties at home after losing their Digimon. Surely, the loss of their partners, who are more like a family, may be too much for everyone else as well. After thinking back to the past memories of Renamon and hearing the incessant chatter from her mother at the other side of the house, Ruki decides to get away from the distractions and go somewhere else instead, preferably outside and away from the house. On the way out, Ruki just happen to meet paths with Rumiko again. _Great, here comes another lecture..._ Ruki sighed inwardly as she continues to move toward her destination while Rumiko begins to talk.

"Oh Ruki, I was just thinking... Hey, where are you going now?" Rumiko questioned again, seeing that Ruki was ignoring her.

"Just outside, I need to talk to a few friends," Ruki lied; knowing that just going outside is not enough of an excuse for her mother.

Even an acceptable excuse still did not satisfy Rumiko, as she continues her advances. "Wait a moment, didn't we agree to a go to meeting a client today?"

"No, only you agreed to that" Ruki added, not wanting to imagine where the conversation would go.

"Ruki, what am I going to do then? They are depending on me," Rumiko complained.

"I didn't agree to it, and I really don't like anything like that," Ruki continued.

"But then what am I going to tell them then? Would you just reconsider it this time?" Rumiko pressed on, increasing the tension.

Ruki did not have an answer to the last question. As much as she did not want to disappoint her mother, there are certain events where she cannot fulfill her mother's wishes.

"Please Ruki, just this once? I promised that..." Rumiko trailed off as Ruki interrupted her.

"No! I am not going!" Ruki finally managed to tell her mother in irritation and ran out the door.

Outside, Ruki could only continue to run, not thinking of any particular place, just anywhere away from her mother. After running for about five minutes, Ruki stops, knowing that she has already ran far enough away from home.

The streets seem to be at an acceptable temperature for the time of day, but still there were people in the streets. In addition, the cacophony from all the operating machines made the atmosphere unfriendly.

Even though the busy streets did not appeal to her, Ruki still enjoy the freedom of space that she has without her mother watching over her constantly. Still, sometime later she knew that returning home would be inevitable. As long as she has the freedom though, Ruki intends to make the most out of it. Just as she turns around the corner of this busy street, Ruki collides with another person.

"Hey!" Ruki began, already a little angry because of conflicts with her mother and the bump did not make things better.

"Sorry, I... Ruki!" The voice apologised and recognised her at the same time.

Looking up, Ruki sees the familiar face of Jenrya. "Oh, fancy seeing you here..." Ruki began; at least she is with somebody she knows.

"Hehe, well, I was just walking around, didn't really expect to this... you seem a little stressed out, are you all right?" Jenrya asked, seeing that Ruki did seem to be bothered.

"It's nothing..." Ruki lied, not wanting to remember her situation.

"Ok, let me guess, you have troubles at home and you just left to think about it for awhile" Jenrya suggested.

Ruki loosen up a little, however Jenrya guess correctly about her situation did surprise her, but now there is nothing to hide.

"How did..."

"How did I know?" Jenrya interrupted before he continued, "I am faced with the same problems at home and just ran off, looks like it's the same for you..."

"I see..." Ruki finished.

"So, you want to talk about this some place where it is not as noisy?" Jenrya suggested a little annoyed at the numerous people passing by and cars driving by.

"All right" Ruki agreed, also disliking the noise around their environment.

After explaining the situation at home, both Tamers realise that perhaps they are not alone in dealing with family problems. Still, it would look like they experience the worst in comparison to all their peers.

"So, are the others able to live compared to us? How is Juri?" Ruki asked.

"I think so, but just not as bad as how we are... Takato is trying to confess to Juri for real this time, but no progress yet... Hirokazu and Kenta are just the same and Juri... I don't know. Generally, all of us are facing difficult times... I guess this is part life we have to deal with..." Jenrya said, not liking the concept of moving on in this situation.

"But why does it have to this much of a problem? Our parents aren't doing anything to help that either..." Ruki questioned, even though she already knew that their parents only wants the best for them.

"I don't know, I guess it was sudden that everything happened on that day... Anyway, are we ready to go back?" Jenrya asked.

"No, I just don't know what to do after she keeps forcing everything on me" Ruki replied, still a little bitter from the pressures her mother pressed on her.

_This can't be good... if Ruki does not want to go home, then what will she do? I can't just leave her by herself... On the other hand, maybe I am no different in this situation..._ Jenrya thought, looking over the situation and evaluating the possible solutions.

"We don't have much to do for today, should we visit Takato to see what he's up to?" Jenrya asked, trying to find something half-productive to do while away from home.

"Knowing him, he is probably either daydreaming about Juri or wasting batter for another ridiculous bread of his Digimon, but fine... and why do you still carry that around?" Ruki said in response, hinting at the D-Arc.

"I guess it's just a good reminder of the good times... Is that why you carry yours around too?" Jenrya asked in return, having notice Ruki's D-Arc.

"Yes and even now... I wonder how Renamon is doing," Ruki replied, even though she thought she had hid her D-Arc way.

Walking back into the busier parts of the city never did seem appealing, but for the purpose of finding something to do, Jenrya and Ruki slowly reach their destination. Entering the Matsuda bakery, the aroma of bread that fills the air and leaving a sweet aftertaste did seem more pleasant than the outside environment.

"How boring..." a tired Takato moaned behind the store as he put his head down a little to take a rest.

"Are you saying that we're boring?" Questioned Ruki as she came into view with Jenrya.

Immediately, Takato swings his head back up and smiles at the sight of his friends, knowing that talking to his friends would be much better than mechanically repeating the prices on the bread. "R-Ruki! Jen!"

"Hey Takato, how are you today?" Jenrya asked, knowing that Takato would be beyond bored with this job currently.

"Boring as usual, I don't know why mother keeps insisting I do this all day... What's Ruki doing here?"

"We're in the same situation as you are, except maybe with more troubles than we want, so have you figured what to say to Juri when the time comes?" Jenrya asked in return.

"N-not yet, I just... need some time, its hard work to build up courage for this kind of thing..." Takato replied, not thinking wanting to think too much about the topic.

"Better decide quickly, or you won't even notice more important things like whatever is burning right now..." Ruki added, having caught the smell of something burning.

"Burning? Ahh! My Guilmon bread! Sorry guys, I have to clean up the mess!" Takato said in response and quickly ran inside to stop the burning smell.

Meanwhile, Ruki began to leave, knowing that it would take Takato forever to clean up whatever mess he made. "I knew it, we're leaving..."

"Umm, see you later, Takato!" Jenrya called as he left the bakery with Ruki.

Before exiting the edifice, Juri happen to enter the building and greeting the two. "Hi Ruki!"

"Oh, hello Juri..." Ruki replied, smiling at her friend.

"I didn't expect to see you here, and... what's that burning smell?" Juri asked.

"Takato burned something, that's all..." Jenrya pointed out, half-smiling at what happened.

"Burned something? He should be more careful... and Ruki, your mother called earlier and wanted to say that..." Juri began again, only as Ruki knew where the conversation would go.

"No!" Ruki said in defence, refusing to listen to anything her mother would say, and to avoid further confrontation, she ran.

"Hey Ruki, wait!" Jenrya called after Ruki, before chasing after her, leaving Juri confused at what was happening.

After a short chase, Ruki stops in the middle of a familiar park, but even with the serenity of the place, the new tension from the hinting of Rumiko did not clam Ruki. The small breathes from running the short distance is the only audible noise that fills the scene as Jenrya also arrives after Ruki.

"Hey Ruki... Is something wrong?" Jenrya commented in between breathes.

"It's nothing; I just can't stand my mother right now, always trying to force her interests to me..." Ruki replied defensively.

"Yeah, but you have to go back sometime... you can't jus--" Jenrya said before Ruki interrupted.

"I don't want to, even after all those years, she still doesn't understand..." Ruki concluded before walking away to a patch of grass and sitting down to try and calm down. "Just... drop it."

Knowing he would not win this case, Jenrya simply sighs and sits down further up from Ruki. _I thought I was the one with problems, but it looks like Ruki is much worse... What should I do? Renamon isn't around right now, so I can't leave her like this... and... _Jenrya's thoughts trailed off as he notices that Ruki seem to be static. _She's asleep? Oh well, maybe just for a little bit..._

Closing his eyes, Jenrya leans back onto a tree, gaining a state of relaxation. Eventually, both tamers seem to drift off into a slumber, but unaware of the time that passes by quickly, soon the sun began to go down. The two tamers would have kept on sleeping if not for the cooler temperature that seems to be filling the atmosphere.

Jenrya slowly opens his eyes, unaware that he fell asleep earlier when he did not intend to._ What... The sun has gone down!? Wait, how long did I... _Jenrya thought as he slowly adjust out of his slumber and check the time. _What? I've been asleep for that long? _He got up to wake Ruki as well, as neither of them have expected to fall asleep, but the park being a quiet place did allow them to sleep through the hours into the early night without distraction.

Instead of the golden blazing sun, the coldness of the dark blue sky and the piercing cold fills the atmosphere, and a feel of danger with the unknown lurking behind the shadows all around the city.

"What time is it?" Ruki mumbled, getting up with a relatively better mood than before the peaceful rest.

"A few hours has passed, looks like we're really going to have to go back now" Jenrya said, knowing that even with strained family relations, they should return home.

"No..." Ruki said in response.

"Huh? But why?" Jenrya questioned.

"I really don't want to right now," Ruki explained, unwilling to move.

"But... what will..." Jenrya said before two voices from further away called out.

"Are you sure they're around here?" Said one voice.

"Yes, I saw them run in this direction earlier..." replied a female voice.

"Hopefully we can find them; their parents are looking for them..." Said the first voice again.

Recognising the voices, Ruki know that all the other tamers are most likely looking for them now at the request of worrying parents.

"They're still looking for us, how can we go back? Our parents are probably going to keep us from going anywhere if they catch us," Ruki added, now having some outside support for her claim before running away.

"Maybe they're over here..." Suggested Juri's voice from around the corner.

In a panic, Jenrya also follow Ruki's path of escape, knowing that it would be difficult to explain the situation to Takato and Juri. He knew that there would be no problem with returning home, but with Ruki unwilling to go home did worry him. Running up another pathway, a familiar structure came into view, and knowing that it would be the easiest hiding spot, Jenrya enters Guilmon's old hideout.

"Are you sure this is a good place to hide? Takato will most likely come up here at any minute since he comes here often," Jenrya questioned.

"There's no other place to run to, we'll be seen easily, get in!" Ruki replied, pushing Jenrya into the hole at the end of the hideout.

"Ow! You don't need to be..." Jenrya said before he realised the amazing sight in front.

"What is it?" Ruki asked.

"Look over there," Jenrya said as he pointed to the end of the tunnel.

As Ruki look to the end to see the white light along with pieces of black data flickering, she knew it is the same as a wish coming true.

"Well?" Jenrya asked, not knowing what they would do.

"Looks like this is it, if we go through that, then..." Ruki said as Takato and Juri's voices seem to draw near to their location.

"Do you think they could be in here?" Takato asked.

"I don't think so, why would they be hiding there?" Juri asked, but Takato still insists on going into the hut to check.

"Quick! We have no choice, anything would be better than being caught in this situation" Ruki concluded as she pulled Jenrya with her into the Digital Warp, and the warp closed itself. Soon Jenrya and Ruki found themselves traveling through the massive connexion networks along with the luminous chunks of data flying around.

"Hey Ruki, was that really necessary? I know that this may be a solution, but shouldn't we have waited a little so that we can bring the others as well? The Digital World is dangerous..." Jenrya commented.

"No, after going off for that time, I doubt our parents would allow us to leave... Besides, you're the only one who understands now let's go..." Ruki finished, going through the massive data stream.

_Oh well, looks like she won't listen to reason... Still, maybe this is for the best... only I hope that Shuichon won't be worried sick at home..._ Jenrya thought before following Ruki from behind, as their journey starts here.

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After being away from producing any work I really needed a warm-up, but the length of this piece certainly turned out longer than expected, and I'll probably leave it as an one-shot for now and finish the complete story in the future, after getting some feedback (I hope) on how I did on this one. Another thing to note, the ending for Tamers (Takato finding the warp in Guilmon's hideout) is ignored for the purpose of this fic.


End file.
